The Walking Dead: Starling Sinking
by Horizons Wanderlust
Summary: Bex Starling was prepared for another day as a nurse at Harrison Memorial Hospital with her usual sass, sarcasm, and wit. However, she was unaware that this day would be the day everything changed. Rick x OC / Rated M for language and future mature chapters
1. Chapter 1

The Walking Dead: Starling Sinking

Chapter One

The day the world ended started out as any other. Bex Starling tied her auburn hair into a ponytail as she entered Harrison Memorial Hospital. A 12-hour shifted awaited her today so Bex planned accordingly allowing her a full nine hours of sleep. Instead of arriving at the hospital early to get ready she kept her scrubs, showered right before going to bed, and left a salad within the desk of the doctor who was currently on vacation. The empty office was also the perfect place for napping, hiding, and lounging around on breaks. Bex took her career quite seriously but she added some extra flair and excitement. If being the perfect registered nurse were her only way to live life she would have ended up in a mental ward.

"Good morning, Bex!" The receptionist greeted. Bex wave her hand as she passed by while grabbing a random magazine off the counter and also feeling slightly guilty that she never learned the name of the friendly coworker. She knew of him as the guy who slept with most of the sexually confused male interns. There was no judgment as this hospital held some of the sleaziest of characters. Bex entered the elevator pressing the button of her desired floor. As the doors were closing a hand blocked them causing them to reopen. A police officer joined Bex. He had short black curly hair, a masculine body, and a cocky smirk as she checked him out.

"Good morning, nurse." He said.

"Good morning, officer." Bex replied with a small nod.

"Please, you can call me Shane," his smirk widened. "Does this beautiful face have a name?"

"I believe her name is Scarlett, if you're referring to this woman on the cover." Bex tapped the model posed on the front of the magazine.

"A sense of humor, cute. No I mean the woman in the scrubs holding the magazine." Shane continued.

"Bex." She answered as the doors opened. She exited first making a right. Her day would begin with checking on yesterday's patients and updating their charts from the night shift nurse's recordings. Her walk was not taken alone. Shane was right beside her.

"Any exciting patients today?" He asked winking at the passing nurses.

"Mr. Coleman requested a scrub bath in the near future. Perhaps today he wants to cash in his luck," Bex pulled out her phone checking the time. She was a few minutes early just as expected. "What about you, Shane? Any marvelous events happening out in the field?"

"A few teenagers caught drinking and driving. A bunch of little dumb shits if you ask me."

Bex overly dramatically gasped, "Wow, I didn't know the authority could speak in such a way."

"I probably shouldn't but I can trust you." Shane winked. That seemed to be his thing.

"Ah, but be careful who you trust. One of those little dumb shits could very well be my nephew, or son, or boyfriend." Bex finished covering her mouth and faking a shocked expression.

"That's sexist of you to think they were all male."

"Were they all male?"

"Yes, actually. And if one of them is your boyfriend then I think you would be in a little bit of trouble. And I don't just mean with the law. A kid like that wouldn't know how to handle a woman such as yourself." Shane winked once more.

"And they can't be my nephew since I'm an only child."

"And one of them obviously can't be your son. You're much too long to be a parent of one of them." Another wink.

"Hmm, then I can't have any relation whatsoever with those little dumb shits. Good thing for you or I could have called the gossip girls to spread some juicy drama." Bex winked internally mocking Shane. "So, Shane, what exactly are you doing here?" She grabbed a clipboard from the counter the two had finally reached.

"My partner was shot last month. He's been in a coma ever since." Shane ran a hair through his hair looking down.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Bex said. "But I can guarantee he is in good hands."

"I know he is. You're here." Shane smiled.

"Well, I'm not assigned to him so I actually play no factor in his recovery."

"Or downfall."

"Yes but that's normally not something a friend would tease."

"We've been best friends for years. We tease each other about everything."

"That's cute. Well, I have work to do. Nice chatting with you, Shane." Bex offered a small smile before turning away and heading towards her nearest patient.

"Wait, you never gave me your number." Shane called after.

"Yep, sure didn't." And with that Bex gave a thumb up and entered the room of her first patient.

* * *

Lunch break was finally upon Bex. She wrote down her remaining notes of her latest patient, punched out for lunch, tossed her gloves into the trash and made her way to the staff recreation room. As she entered she noticed everyone had his or her attention focused on the television. Bex slowly and quietly crept to the only empty chair taking a seat. The channel was set to a news station. A man stood within a city with a crowd of people behind him. The headline: NEW DISEASE RAPIDLY INCREASING. PEOPLE TURNED VIOLENT.

"What did I miss?" Bex asked the nurse next to her. She was older with graying blonde hair cut moderately short.

"Some new flu or something. People are rioting." She whispered knowing better than to disturb the others.

"Where are they?"

"Atlanta. Do you know anyone in the city?'

"A friend from college. She works some dead-end office job."

"My sister is there. She owns a little floral shop somewhere near the outskirts. Oh, I do hope she's alright."

"Why are there so many people there?" Bex noticed the oddly extremely amount of people behind the reporter.

"City is a safe zone apparently. Military thinks if they round everyone up in the city then the disease will stay out or something. They're being vague about the details. I know they're hiding something."

"You think everyone is hiding something, Trudy." A male doctor told. He had dirty blonde hair styled from what Bex recognized as a Caesar cut. She spent an embarrassing amount of time reading fashion magazines. His skin was pale and he had a distinctive jawline.

"Cause most people are, Dr. Williamson." Trudy protested. "He's upset because I was changing a young woman with a broken leg and wrist; car accident and he walked in on it. Made a big ordeal about the situation. Truth he told, I can tell he thinks she's attractive and seeing her with her top off must have drove him crazy." Trudy chuckled as Dr. Williamson marched out of the room. "He acted as if he didn't know what the curtains were for. That's my name for you." Bex giggled along with Trudy.

"So, is this disease something to worry about?"

"Don't pay it too much attention dear. The press is just being themselves and throwing things our of proportion to get their views up."

"If you say so, I'm going to go get some lunch. Care to join me?"

"Oh, my shift is just about over. Maybe another time? Be sure to get a hot dog they taste much better today!"

* * *

Bex Starling was sitting alone in the stairway eating her hot dog and sipping on a soda. Tried as she did, she could not think of anything else but the news. If there was some disease how come none of the nurses were informed of it prior to it becoming a headline on some news channel. Surely the health professionals would be aware of illnesses before the general public. But then again she didn't know these things. She had only begun work as a registered nurse only seven months ago. She was the youngest and newest nurse in the hospital. Bex picked up on things quickly but was still clueless about others. Like when the RNs are told about new sicknesses. Bex shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. Some overbearing soccer mom probably has a kid with a high fever and went crazy talking about the worst-case scenarios. Bex's pager went off. Pagers were a shitty way of communicating but this hospital forbid the use of cell phones while on the job. An alert was sent out but the message was unclear. Suddenly a door possibly just a few floors below sounded as if it were forced open. Bex brought herself to a stand and leaned over the railing to see the commotion. Men dressed in black with helmets and masks and guns were running up the steps. A scream echoed within the stairwell.

"Hey!" One of the men shouted looking directly at Bex. She took that as her cue to leave. She ran out into the hallway and was met with chaos. All the employees were running around, paperwork was scattered along the floor, and patients were asking everyone who passed by what was going on. A person left alone to their thoughts can block out the entire universe.

"Miss, nurse, what is happening right now?" A frightened man asked. He wore the typical hospital gown.

"I have no idea. Stay here, I'll be right back." Bex told him jogging towards the service counter. One woman was still seated trying to calm someone done on the telephone.

"Hey, what the hell is happening?" Bex asked.

"The military charged in on the first floor a few minutes ago. They're not letting anyone in or out." The woman replied. Her chocolate colored hair was dully spiked. Her black scrubs were a few shades darker than her skin.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know! I think it has to do with the news but they're not telling us anything. Trudy Williamson just called from down there saying she thought she heard gunshots."

 _Oh shit, Trudy._

"Gunshots? Oh god, we have to get everyone off this floor then. Some men were running up the stairs."

"I'll help." The woman offered slamming the phone down that she was ignoring. Bex led her to the scared man who was still standing in the middle of the hallway. His face was now a deep red.

"Sir, this woman is here to help you." Bex calmly spoke. She leaned closer to the woman, "get him to the other stairwell I doubt the military is coming up both ways." She nodded wrapping an arm around the man trying to ease the situation.

"Hi, I'm Sheila, what's your name?"

"Daniel Hopkins, but my friends call me Dan." The man nervously told. Left behind in his place was a puddle of liquid easily identifiable as urine. Bex was saddened now knowing why his face had grown so red. She brushed off the thought running down the hall. She dragged an equipment cart in front of the door blocking entry. She piled on the chairs behind the counter and the computer figuring a little extra weight might help. Bex looked around her surroundings. This floor had turned to hell. She hadn't the slightest idea how to escort all these patients out of the hospital but she knew she needed to.

Bex managed to pass off four patients to over nurses and doctors exiting the building before the cart she has placed just under an hour ago flew across the room. A group of military personnel dressed in riot gear barged onto the floor guns in hand and shouting orders. They were grabbing the nearest people and lining them up. Another group was cornering others aiming their guns at them. Bex needed to hide. The morale thing to do was to fight back to devise a plan to get those people out but the sensible action was to hide from the military. She would be worthless to everyone if she did something stupid and died. Bex entered the room to her left. The occupant had just been led away from a fellow nurse moments ago. Hiding under the bed seemed to be the easiest thing but the most obvious. Those men would know to search the room it seemed ordinary. She needed to make it seem like the room had been ransacked already. Bex turned the shower on, grabbed handfuls of toilet paper throwing torn pieces along the floor. She knocked over the chairs, end tables, and smashed the framed picture of a family. Balloons were floating all around. Bex popped most of them, dropped the glass vase of flowers, scattered the 'get well' cards and flipped over the bed with the strength of her adrenaline and after whipping off a sheet. Bex squished herself into the small storage space cabinets where they kept the patients clothes that were worn the day they were admitted. With the sheet she covered herself. Her hope was if the men even ventured further into the room after seeing the disaster it was and decided to check the cabinets the sheet would provide some cover. It also acted as a small sound barrier as she tried controlling her breathing. She thought about the people out there. Why were they being lined up? Did they have some device that could scan them and determine if anyone had this disease? And what the hell was this disease and why was it causing the military to overtake a fucking hospital. Gunshots broke her train of thoughts. Screams followed, pleas for mercy and help joined in. Bex placed a hand over her mouth stopping her gasps to be silenced. Tears trickled down her cheeks. Those innocent people were being murdered. The military was performing a fucking massacre inside the hospital. The thought was sickening. The screams did not end. They were continuous and grew louder as Bex heard the door to the room creek open.

"What the fuck happened in here?" A man asked. There was an absence of footsteps.

"Maybe one of those fucking freaks got in." Another man suggested. His voice was more distinct as it had a rougher tone.

"Then where is the blood?" The first man questioned.

"Who the fuck cares? This room is empty, move your fucking ass." A third voice ordered. This one was female with a sharp tone.

"Yes ma'am." The two men said in unison.

"Fuck, they're here!" Someone yelled. Gunshots erupted but became somewhat suppressed as the door slammed shut. Bex sat there; hands clamped over her ears and eyes shut. This was unreal. This was not happening. Little did she know this would be the beginning of the new world.


	2. Chapter 2

The Walking Dead: Starling Sinking

Chapter Two

Bex Starling awoke banging her head. She had passed out from shock from earlier events. The military had shot up the hospital shouting about freaks. A new disease had broken out but Bex had no idea what it was. For all she knew it was a contagious illness that rapidly killed its victim. But that left the lingering question of why the military was killing people. Bex had hidden inside a storage cabinet. Her body ached from being cramped and uncomfortable for so long. Then a horrifying thought came around. How long had she been out and was the military still on her floor? Her heart hastily pulsed. She was soaked in sweat. Bex slowly opened the cabinet peeking around. The room was still destroyed as she had designed. She had no view of the door from her current location as the cabinets were around the corner making it a perfect hiding spot. She crawled from her spot grabbing a shard of glass from the shatter vase that once held flowers. The window offered little help as to the time. The sun was shining meaning it was day but how much time had passed Bex did not know. She rounded the corner seeing the door was still closed. She leaned against the flipped over bed needing to breathe and collect herself. Throwing herself into unknown danger was reckless with a scattered and fatigue mind. Bex used the toilet paper to wipe down her face and neck. The room was hotter than usual. Bex went to the light switch flipping the switch. Nothing. The power was out meaning there would be no lights when night came. This place will be terribly dark. She needed to find someone. Anyone who was not a murderer sent by the government. Bex broke apart the chair by repeatedly stomping on the leg. She replaced the shard of glass with the leg knowing if she sliced her hand up with the glass the chances of getting stitches were unlikely. And a chair leg would not kill someone. Although, if the military is killing anyone in sight maybe a deadly weapon was needed. Bex had never killed anyone in her life. She had witness patients pass away a few times but she was not murdering them. If her life were threatened, would she be able to defend herself? She told herself yes but would only truly know when the danger presented itself. Bex exhaled and inhaled deeply approaching the door. A tight grip around the chair leg brought comfort. She gently turned the door handle and pushed the door forward. Her poked her head out quickly looking down both ends of the hall. She was not prepared for what she saw. Bodies scattered along the floors, blood stained the once white walls. Bex felt bile rise in her throat. Being a nurse did prep one for this. Right beside the door laid a body with half a head. She predicted the rest was shot off. A massacre happened just feet away and she managed to stay hidden. But the military could still very well be around. She ran back into the room, closed the door, and released the substance within her mouth into the toilet. Bitterness filled her mouth; an unpleasant smell stayed with her. Bex wiped her lips with the toilet paper and used her finger to get the remaining vomit in her mouth before also wiping it down. She blew her nose desperate to remove the smell. The toilet was not flushed out of fear someone would hear it. The sink was worthless for no water came out. Everything felt unreal.

Bex prepared herself for the scene just outside the door. She had no idea what time it was. She wanted to get somewhere else much safer before dusk. She exited the room. Her original plan was to avoid looking at the mess. But she needed to see these people. She may not have made close friends at the hospital but she knew quite a few of the employees. And she hoped her patients had made it out. A look of pure terror was imprinted on most of their faces. They knew their end was coming. Some of them probably stared at the gun that ended their lives long enough to pick out little details, beg for mercy, and think about someone they wanted to say goodbye to. These thoughts made Bex want to stop and just fall and cry. But it was obligatory she escape this once peaceful building. There were no signs of life yet. Dead bodies and more dead bodies welcomed her around every corner. As she neared the second stairwell a military personnel lied on their back rested in a pool of blood. The liquid was drying but some still reflected the sunlight outside glaring through the nearby window. Next to him or her was their assault rifle. Bex ran to the weapon picking it up. Her father had taken her to the shooting range a few times growing her. She was a shit shot and eventually stopped going because her uncle would poke fun at her about her aim. But she knew how to check if a weapon was loaded and this one was. She slung the sling around adjusting the strap till it was bearable. A few feet away she spotted a grey duffle bag. Bex took the bag emptying its contents; pornographic magazine, a jockstrap, and some textbooks. She looked over at the dead solider noticing the gear. It seemed in tact and could prove useful. She placed the bag next to the body, unzipped, and starting undressing the corpse. The helmet was inches away and in good condition, the mask was damaged with a small hole over the forehead. Bex instantly knew the cause. This person had been shot. Did someone in the hospital have a firearm and fought back? They were prohibited within the building. Maybe it was luck that someone disobeyed the rule. Perhaps they saved someone or even an entire group of people. Bex removed the mask wanting to see the face. It was a man around her age. One eye was rolled back, the other practically staring at her. Blue. They were a sky blue. He had blonde hair, shaved on the sides and leaving a small buzzed cut rectangle atop of his head. His skin was pale and cold. A thin line of blood spilled down the lower left corner of the mouth. Bex could make out a few teeth that received feelings on his upper teeth. This man looked like your everyday citizen. He was someone's son, neighbor, friend, crush in high school, employee, maybe even hero. But here he was, dead with a bullet hole in his forehead. Murderers looked just like everyone else. Bex folded the mask her palm brushing the hole and positioned it next to the dead man's head. Next she removed the black combat books. The man had mismatched socks. Lefty was a red and white striped sock. The right was a blue sock with yellow polka dots. Bex always thought people dressed like them only wore black socks. This man had a personality. She was confused why she kept thinking about these things. Nothing felt real. Bex managed to pull off the rest of the gear leaving him in his plain green briefs. She tucked all the gear into the duffle bag. The gear within the bag would offer better protection than her green scrubs and green tennis shoes. Bex took off to the stairs wanting to leave immediately. As she proceeded down the steps her access was cut off. Portions of the stairs were missing as if blown apart. She entered the floor she was currently on. There were bodies as well but here the lights hung low and bullet holes lined the walls. She recognized a few of the bodies as doctors she watched perform numerous surgeries and one of the patients she sent out. She assumed the body laying face down was the nurse she sent him with. Mr. Jeffrey Nelson, cancer patient who broke his leg when he had a stroke. His sponge bath was schedule for the next day. The nurse was someone Bex never bother to know; a coworker who could get shit done. Bex continued down the hall when she heard hushed voices in a room. She stopped outside the room listening closely. There were two voices. If they needed help she could try assisting. But if they were a threat she had the assault rifle ready. Bex threw open the door aiming the gun. A girl screamed while a guy cursed. Inside a young girl fell to the floor and a man held his hands in front of his face, his left arm was in a cast.

"Calm down, I'm a nurse." Bex tried entering the room and closing the door. The girl hid behind the chair she fell from while the man glared at Bex.

"How do we know you're not going to kill us?" He asked.

"I can only offer my word." Bex attempted stepping forward. The girl was starting to stand.

"Give me the gun." She said a quiver ending her demand.

"Uh, no." Bex answered taking a seat next to the man. "My name is Bex, I'm a registered nurse. Do you guys need any medical attention?" The girl was still standing still fist clenched. She seemed ready to let out a scream.

"She's fine, Hannah. I believe her." The man said. Hannah nodded sitting back in her seat.

"Name's Drake, Drake Henderson. I'm a mechanic at the body shop just a few blocks down. That girl there is Hannah Turner. She's a sophomore in high school."

"Drake." Hannah whined covering her face.

"I've known her since she was a little girl. Been friends with her father since diapers. She's always been shy." Drake explained.

"That's sweet," Bex smiled. "Do you like school Hannah?"

"Um, I like art class. But I hate my English class, the teacher is too hard."

"Ugh, I dated a guy who was in college to be an English teacher. They're assholes." Bex told. Hannah gasped at the word 'assholes.'

"Oh, sorry. Sometimes I forget not everyone likes swearing."

"I fucking love it." Drake chuckled.

"Drake!" Hannah hissed disapproving his use of language.

"Sorry sweetie. It's been over a day since I cussed."

"That doesn't mean you should." Hannah scorned.

"How did you guys survive?" Bex asked. The small talk was nice but she needed information on the attack.

"They didn't come in here." Drake answered. "Hannah came by to visit, she was in the room a little ways down. That's when we heard gunshots and we stayed right here. No one ever came in and after a few hours the noise finally stopped. She didn't leave this bed until morning. That's when the lights went out."

"Wait, it's been an day since the attack?" Bex asked perplexed.

"Yeah, where were you?" Drake questioned.

"I was upstairs. I passed out from the shock." Bex left out the fact that she stayed hidden instead of trying to help those people. She felt awful but it was the smart thing to do.

"You got lucky. Could hear them people dying for hours. Moaning and groaning until finally the military filled out." Drake told.

Bex was processing all of this. They left people out there to suffer instead of just putting a bullet in their brain. She wondered who shot that solider upstairs. A part of her hoped they were still around to save her and her two new friends. Another part of her feared what that gunman was capable of. Would he/she shoot her if she tried finding them?

* * *

Bex discovered Drake had broken his wrist while out with his dog. He was on a run and tripped over something that caused him to land wrong on his hand. He was admitted three days ago and had surgery performed yesterday. Hannah Turner was for a cancer scare. She had a bump on her head and apparently her mother is a very dramatic human and was convinced it was cancer. Turned out it was just a bump from hitting her head on her bunk bed she shares with her older brother. Hannah hates the bottom bunk and sharing a room with her brother, a junior in high school. After discussing their lives and chatting for a while Bex noticed the lack of food and water in the room. All three were hungry and thirsty. Bex figured out exactly where they were in the hospital pinpointing how far the cafeteria was. Drake wanted to help and Hannah refused to leave his side. So, Bex led the way with the two in tow. She kept the rifle ready to fire in case of danger. Hannah held the chair leg, as she felt braver with it. She was a funny little girl. Along the way they found a utility closet. Bex packed some supplies into the duffle bag Drake was carrying. She found a full can of spray paint and a hammer for Drake to use in case of anything. Bex offered to take the duffle bag but Drake denied help saying he was fine. The three arrived at the cafeteria hall. The doors were closed causing Bex to feel a little panicked. She was unsure what could be inside those doors. Hopefully it was just empty with tons of food that was still edible. Bex gave a three count with her right hand. After one she opened the double doors and nearly puked with the smell. Inside were dozens of people standing around with corpses all around. She scanned the area confused, disgusted, and disturbed when she saw a man eating the flesh of another just a foot away. All at once the people looked straight at Bex.

"What the fuck is going on," Drake mumbled. "Are they sick? Do they have that disease?" But before Bex could answer Hannah released a sickening scream of agony. A woman in a black pencil skirt and bloodied white blouse was biting into Hannah's arm.

"Hannah!" Drake roared driving the hammer into the woman's head. He pounded the tool multiple times until the woman finally let go and brain was squeezed out. Hannah continued to scream as Drake lifted her in his arms letting out whelps of pain due to his wrist. Bex fired her gun at the nearest person. She shot four times into the chest of the doctor. But he kept pursuing her. Bex knew this was not possible. The man acted as if the bullets had not pierced his skin.

"Fuck this." Bex growled slamming the doors shut. Drake was a few feet down trying to calm a now crying Hannah.

"Drake! The chains and spray paint!" Bex requested.

"But Hannah-"  
"NOW!" Drake did as told sliding the supplies down. The doors pushed Bex back down. The people inside were trying to get out. Bex used all her might to push the doors back. She wrapped the chain around the handles, made Drake search for a lock in the utility closet, and locked the chains in place.

"Take Hannah back to the room. I'll be right there." Bex told looking at the wound. Hannah's bone was showing and some flesh was just hanging. The injury was repulsive. Bex turned back to the doors, shook the paint can, and spray-painted the doors.

DON'T OPEN. DEAD INSIDE.

She tagged the left door first as the right side had was being pushed on more. She moved onto the right once the movement was slowed. Bex ran back to the hospital room. Hannah was tucked in the bed, Drake holding her hand sitting beside.

"How is she?" Bex asked.

"She passed out." Drake told. He was crying, tears still sliding down his face.

"Let me get a better look at it." Bex said. She examined the bite. The fact that someone would tear this much skin and meat off of someone was insane.

"What was that back there?" Drake asked.

"It was like they were all dead. Not just the corpses but the ones that were up and moving around. Their skin was decomposing and they smelled rotten. I shot that guy four times in the chest and he didn't react. He didn't die, didn't fall, and didn't scream out in pain. He just kept coming at me." Bex answered.

"That must be that disease. The news said people turned violent." Drake noted.

"But what the fuck are they doing biting people. When people die they stay dead. This doesn't make any sense!" Bex cried. All her years of college, all the studying and lectures and assignments, nothing said this was fucking possible. Those fucking people were dead but living. They were the undead.

"I think I killed the woman." Drake whispered. Bex looked at him. He was staring down at Hannah's face.

"She was attacking Hannah. You didn't have a choice."

"But if I killed her will she come back?" Drake asked.

"What?"

"You said those things, the people walking. They looked and smelled like they were dad. Are the dead coming back to life?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"How is that ridiculous? You said yourself you shot that guy but he didn't die. If they came back from the dead can they actually die? Is that woman going to comeback?"

"You're not making sense, Drake!"

"Nothing that just happened makes fucking sense! That shit we just saw, that fucking cunt that bit Hannah, what the fuck was she doing? I know you saw that fucking asshole eating some fucking guy on the floor! Why are they eating fucking human flesh?"

"We don't know if that's exactly what's happening" Bex argued. "I don't know what I just saw but I know it can be explained with time."

"We don't have fucking time! We were attacked twice within two days. Once by the fucking military who is supposed to be protecting us and instead tried killing all of us! Just now with those fucking people who should be done but aren't! I know I heard the military kill everyone. They would not have left so many people in the fucking cafeteria who were sick! They were killing the nurses and doctors like you said you fucking bi-" Drake stopped. Hannah was making noise. It sounded like she was groaning in pain. Bex scooted closer checking her pulse. She held her fingers in place for a few minutes thinking her shock was causing her to not think properly because Bex was not feeling a pulse.

"Is she okay?" Drake asked.

"I don't feel a pulse."

"What do you mean you don't feel a pulse?"

"I mean exactly that, asshole. I think my nerves are too jumbled." Hannah's eyelids shot open then. Her once light green eyes were now a red.

"Hannah?" Drake asked. Bex stood from the bed. Hannah was growling staring at Bex.

"Hannah, sweetie?" Drake tried again putting a hand on her shoulder. As soon as he made contact Hannah turned and bit down onto his hand. He boomed in pain shouting profanities. Bex reacted quickly grabbing the hammer and slamming it against Hannah's head. The girl released her hold on Drake now trying to get Bex. At the same time Drake yelled at her leaping over the bed and tackling Bex to the floor before she could land another blow.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Drake screamed.

"She's going to kill us!" Bex shouted. The pieces of the puzzle were connecting themselves in her mind.

"No she's not. She's just sick!"

"Like those people inside the cafeteria! Look at her head!" Drake looked. There was a dent on the right side of Hannah's head. A normal person should be dead but Hannah was still eager to get her hands on someone.

"Drake, she's gone." Bex told. Drake kept her pinned to the floor. Bex took this moment to use the wooden end of the hammer to smack Drake across the face. He fell over allowing Bex to grab the assault rifle.

"Don't do it!" Drake pleaded. He was on his knees, hands together and cheeks tear stained.

"I can't lose her." Drake whimpered.

"You already did." Bex said aiming the gun at Hannah. She was tangled in the blankets. With a quick breath, Bex pulled the trigger and the bullet entered the skull of this new Hannah.

* * *

Bex sat on the floor, gun aimed at Drake. He was curled up in a ball in the corner mumbling to himself. He was gone mentally. Seeing Hannah killed ruined him. He did not know what to tell her family. He was convinced they would walk in and see their baby girl dead. But Bex knew this was not true. If her family were alive they would have been here already. She was rapidly losing hope for anything. Everything was dull. But everything was making sense. Bex was a very knowledgeable person. She could piece stuff together fairly quickly. There was some new disease. No one knew what it was but it came fast and strong. It killed people, turning them into cannibals. But could they be considered cannibals if they were undead. Once people died, they came back. But, there was a catch. This disease takes you once you are bit.

The bite is how the disease is transferred into another. The symptoms are unknown as Bex has yet to study them. The bite kills you, but it seems the time it takes to kill varies. Hannah turned within the hour. It has been over an hour and Drake seems to still be fine, for the most part. The victim dies from the bite. But then they come back. They come back and they want to eat your flesh. It seems the only way to kill them is to go for the head; perhaps the brain. Hannah had no pulse therefore nothing was pumping through her. Her heart had stopped. But she came back. Therefore, it is the brain. Bex felt herself going crazy with her thoughts. She needed rest. But Drake was bit. He would turn and try killing her.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Drake asked as if reading her mind.

"Yes." Bex truthfully told. "It's the bite. It turns you."

The two sat there in silence. Drake knew his time was coming, Bex knew she would have to put him out.

"Do it." Drake spoke. "Take me out so I don't suffer."

"Maybe there's a cure? You might be fine." Bex tried being hopeful.

"No…I can feel it in me. My body is shutting down." Drake said. "Please do it before I get too scared."

Everything happened so fast. Bex grabbed her rifle, exchanged a few words with Drake, and ended him. The day happened too fast. Everything was happening too fucking fast. But that is how it works.

* * *

The sun was setting. The longest day also felt like the fastest day. Bex searched the hospital looking for a safe room for the night. Rest was all she needed. Her mind would be refreshed and her thoughts would be cleared. Her once perfectly green scrubs now had blood splatters. She would change tomorrow. Now, she just needed sleep. A hospital bed was blocking the door to a room. Something about this drew her towards it. Bex pushed the bed aside and entered the room. On the bed was a man. His gown was opened so he lied there naked completely exposed. Bex saw a clipboard at the foot of the bed. She checked the chart reading every single note reported. She heard of this man just the other day. This was Rick Grimes.

 **Hello all! Thank you for choosing to read this story. I can some exciting times ahead. Please follow/favorite and leave a review voicing your thoughts. Reviews will greatly help form the story. I hope you stick around as some shit is bound to go down, it is The Walking Dead after all.**


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